Stewart Ledbetter

Stewart Ledbetter, the Senior Reporter, is a veteran of regional media, with most of that here at NewsChannel 5.

A reporter by nature, Stewart edited his high school paper, volunteered at WRUV-FM while a student majoring in economics at the University of Vermont, and wound up the station's news director. He next joined WJOY-AM and WQCR-FM (now WOKO) in South Burlington, then Vermont's leading radio stations, and worked morning drive anchoring 15 live daily newscasts.

Stewart joined WPTZ-TV in 1984, working in the new Burlington bureau covering City Hall and later the Statehouse in Montpelier. He became Senior Reporter in 1987, covering Vermont's first murder trial accessible to cameras. In 1989 he was promoted again to 6 p.m. co-anchor. Throughout the 1990s he served as WPTZ's News Director, a decade in which he launched the region's morning and Sunday newscasts and one of the nation's first local TV newscasts on the internet.

As the millennium approached, Stewart decided to return to "the street" telling stories. He's covered the major political developments of the last two decades, from the civil union struggle to the NH primaries and the stunning Jeffords US Senate defection. He traveled the country during the 2003-04 election cycle reporting on Howard Dean's campaign for President and from the Democratic National Convention.

Stewart is also longtime contributor to Vermont Public Television, producing documentaries and appearing on its signature program, "Vermont This Week." In January 2007, he becomes that program's host.

Through the years, Stewart has been honored with 20 first-place awards from the Vermont and New York Associated Press, and the NY Broadcasters Association. He created "Champlain 2000," an ongoing environmental series, which won a regional EMMY, and is past-president of the New York AP Broadcast Association. In 2004, Stewart received the Vermont AP's Distinguished Service Award.